I was an orphan. Even after growing up, I often returned to the orphanage to visit the head and the kids.

That’s where I first saw Raquel. She was volunteering.

She told me that she had no parents too and just wanted to do her part to make life a little better for the children.

We got to know each other, fell in love and eventually walked down the aisle.

Later, I offended a powerful figure in the industry for refusing to play along with hidden rules.

I was blacklisted and I could only survive on odd jobs from then on.

Back then, Raquel stayed by my side through the hardest days and was never uttering a word of complaint.

Then came the year our child was born. She suffered a failed investment and fell deep into debt.

I sold the apartment I had bought with years of savings to help pay off what she owed and moved us into a rundown shack on the outskirts. The walls were full of holes, wind leaking through every corner.

She hugged me tight with tears in her eyes, swearing she'd treat me and our son well for the rest of her life.

But she broke that promise.

Because of the cruel game played by her and Zack, my son and I became nothing more than their entertainment.

I let out a silent scream, a bitter taste rising in my throat.

Wiping away the tears that had unknowingly fallen, I forced a smile and walked into my son’s hospital room.

“Luke, Daddy bought you some chicken soup. Are you still feeling unwell?”

My son’s pale little face showed a kind of grown-up helplessness.

“Daddy, I have surgery tomorrow. I’m not allowed to eat today.”

I froze for a moment, my mind was still muddled from the shock Raquel had given me today.

I pounded my head in frustration and gently moistened my son’s parched lips with a cotton swab.

He held my hand sensibly and asked, “Daddy, is Mommy still busy looking for a job? I miss her.”

Looking at how mature he was for his age, I swallowed the truth that was on the tip of my tongue.

I gently stroked his head, my heart aching. “You’ll definitely see Mommy before your surgery tomorrow.”

Even if I had to get down on my knees and beg Raquel, I would make sure she came to see her son.

After five years of being the clown in their rich-people’s game, my dignity and pride seem meaningless now.

Watching my son’s sleeping face, I went to confirm tomorrow’s surgery time with the doctor.

I squatted in the hallway, my back pressed against the cold wall. I finally felt a little clearer in the head.

Taking out my phone, I dialed Raquel’s number.

This time, she picked up quickly.

“Yoshi, what’s wrong? I’m accompanying some investors at a dinner right now. If this project goes through, we won’t have to live such a hard life anymore!”

For the past five years, she’s always used similar lines to deceive and brush me off.

And I would always foolishly believe her.

At first, Raquel even pretended to take on a cleaning job.

I looked at her blistered, swollen hands and told her to focus on finding investors for her project, while I'd take care of earning money.

But instead, she spent her days fooling around outside, leaving my son and me to suffer.

Hearing the unmistakable sounds of music on her end of the call, she was probably still partying on the yacht with Zack’s nephew.

I fought back the grief and bitterness surging in my chest, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“Raquel, our son’s surgery is tomorrow. Can you come to be with him? You know how much he looks up to you…”

Before I could finish, Raquel cut me off coldly.

“Yoshi, what’s wrong with you lately? You know how busy I am, yet you keep bothering me! I’m working so hard to get investment so you two can have a better life!”

Hearing her lash out in frustration, a wave of bitterness rose in my chest. I paused for a few seconds, then said softly, “Raquel, maybe in your eyes I’m just a foolish country bumpkin… but don’t you care at all about the son you carried for ten months?”

Raquel fell silent, caught off guard. After a moment, her voice came through, flustered. “Yoshi, what nonsense are you talking about? I’ll finish things here as soon as I can and head to the hospital.”

I looked through the hospital room window at my son, trembling all over. His small body was curled up weakly under the heavy quilt.

When he was just born, he had already wrapped his soft little hand around my finger before he could even open his eyes.

His health had always been poor and he never went to kindergarten.

To him, Raquel and I were his whole world. Yet the mother he trusted with all his heart had never truly cared about him.

I could no longer hold back the sorrow and anger flooding my heart, with silent tears streamed down my face.

To my surprise, Raquel actually came back.

Maybe, in her heart, our son still held a place.

There was still a faint flush of kiss marks on her neck and she had rushed into the hospital room wearing patched-up clothes.

Seeing the beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead, I couldn’t quite describe what I was feeling inside.

For a brief moment, in a daze, I even felt like we were a happy family of three.

Life could be hard. But that didn’t matter as long as we faced it together as a family.

But then a flash of gold at her wrist shattered that illusion. The delicate bracelet was a slap that jolted me back to reality.

When our son saw her, his little face lit up with excitement.

“Mommy, you haven’t come to see me in so long. I missed you so much.”

Raquel’s smile stiffened as she forced out a dry reply, “Mommy’s been too busy. Don’t worry, when you wake up from the surgery, both Mommy and Daddy will be here.”

Before the operation, our son looked at me with a bit of nervousness and fear. “Daddy, can I have an Ultraman as a reward?”

My eyes began to well up with tears.

For Zack’s nephew’s birthday, Raquel had gifted an entire truckload of expensive toys. But for my own son, even his toy car was one I had carved out of wood myself.

I quickly nodded. “Daddy will go get it for you right now!”

I dashed out the door, not forgetting to remind Raquel before I left, “Take good care of Luke. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

But the Ultraman toy my son wanted had already been discontinued. I searched for a long time before finally getting in touch with a toy manufacturer.

When I finally got my hands on the exact one he wanted, I was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to return to the hospital.

But on the way, I received a call from a nurse. “Mr. Hayes, the heart your child was supposed to receive has been taken by someone else. He’s still in the operating room. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible!”

My pupils constricted and my legs went weak. I could barely walk straight. By the time a kind stranger helped me get to the hospital, I was already drenched in cold sweat.

When I rushed to the operating room, the nurse waiting outside let out a sigh and said, “Mr. Hayes, your wife has already gone to the transplant bank and taken the heart.”

The moment her words landed, it felt like my heart plunged into an icy abyss. I tried to call Raquel, gripping my phone tightly, but my fingers trembled so uncontrollably that I couldn’t even press the call button.

The nurse glanced at me with pity in her eyes and gently helped me hold up the phone.

Raquel picked up quickly. “Yoshi, something urgent just came up on my end…”

But I didn’t want to hear her put on that fake, sympathetic act. With a hoarse voice, I questioned her, “Where did you take Luke’s heart?”

She paused for a moment, then hurried to soothe me, “Yoshi, my investor’s nephew turned out to be a match too. Luke’s condition can still hold on for now, so this time, let’s just…”

Furious, I cut her off mid-sentence, my voice cracking with rage as if a mouthful of blood rising in my throat. “Our son is in surgery right now. He needs that heart! Bring it back immediately!”

“The surgery is already underway, how could you do something like this?”

Raquel let out a helpless sigh, her voice tinged with annoyance. “Yoshi, you’re usually so kind and generous. What are you trying to do today?”

“If the surgery has to be stopped, then so be it. There’ll be other chances in the future.”

“I’m taking the heart for the sake of our family’s future. If Zack is satisfied, he’ll invest in me and our son can get better treatment. You won’t have to keep working odd jobs anymore! I’m doing this because I love you both!”

Before I could respond, she hung up. I called her dozens of times, but Raquel eventually turned off her phone.

And all I could think about was my son, still waiting in the operating room…

My heart ached so much that it was hard to breathe. My legs gave out and I collapsed to my knees.

I stared blankly at the surgery room, where its red light was still glowing.

Raquel’s so-called love was letting our son miss his only chance at healing. How noble her love truly was.

A nurse beside me sighed. “Mr. Hayes, maybe you should check out Second City Hospital. My friend said they’re performing a heart transplant today too and they just received a donor heart. Your son’s surgery has already started. He can’t wait any longer.”

The soles of my shoes were worn through, my feet bloodied.

But I didn’t seem to feel the pain at all. I just ran toward the hospital the nurse had mentioned.

When I burst into the VIP ward hallway, I was stopped by bodyguards.

A bespectacled secretary at the front sneered, “Where did this hillbilly come from? This isn’t a place for someone like you. Get lost.”

Tears and snot streamed down my face as I cried out, “My wife is in there. Get Raquel out here!”

The secretary scoffed, then kicked me to the ground. He ground his foot into my face, sneering, “A toad wanting to eat swan meat. Are you insane? Mrs. Simmons is worth tens of millions, what the hell are you? She’s with her fiancé’s nephew right now. Don’t cause trouble!”

I took a deep breath and raised my head, trembling. “Give me back my son’s donor heart!”

The secretary rolled his eyes and kicked me hard, knocking my teeth out. “That heart was brought by Mrs. Simmons. What do you mean it belongs to your son? He was a bastard born to a broke nobody like you, how could he ever compare to Mr. Lincoln’s nephew?”

I coughed up a mouthful of blood, the metallic taste sharp in my throat. My eyes were filled with desperate pleading. “Raquel is my wife! Her son is waiting for that heart to save his life!”

The secretary motioned to the bodyguards. “Get this guy out of here. Stop trying to pull these pathetic stunts and cling to her.”

The phone rang abruptly and I fearfully answered the call. The voice of my son’s attending physician was heavy with sorrow. “Mr. Hayes, your son suffered a heart attack during the surgery and has passed away…”

My son… was killed by his own mother. If only the surgery had been successful, he would have recovered. I could have taken him to the amusement park and sent him to school…

I cried and screamed, “Raquel, you killed your own son!”

But in the end, I was nothing more than a dying dog, thrown outside the hospital. My eyes were devoid of any light.

***

Raquel heard the noise from outside and asked the secretary in confusion, “Was someone causing a scene just now?”

The secretary sneered, “Just a poor, worthless fool, nothing but a madman! He keeps saying he’s your husband and that you took the heart and caused your own son’s death.”